❗️The head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation held a telephone conversation with the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan:

Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin said that experienced employees of the central office of the Investigative Committee were involved in the investigation of the plane crash in Aktau.

Bastrykin said that a complex of investigative actions is being carried out, the purpose of which is to establish all the causes and circumstances of the tragedy.

At the time the plane was preparing to land, Ukraine was carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure of Grozny in the Chechen Republic and Vladikavkaz in the Republic of North Ossetia using unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defenses were repelling those attacks.

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Record 37.3 million tons of cargo transportation volume along Northern Sea Route reached by end of 2024
 
What is the Northern Sea Route?
 
It stretches 5,600 km (approx. 3,480 miles) and runs along Russia's northern shores, from the Kara Gates to Provideniya Bay, and through key Arctic seas: Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi, and Bering.
 
What makes it unique?
 
🟠Shorter transit times between Europe and Asia compared to traditional routes like the Suez Canal.
 
🟠Reduced shipping costs and an alternative to congested maritime passages.
 
🟠Strategic importance for global trade resilience amid Western sanctions and tensions in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Aden.
 
🟠Viable year-round navigation due to climate change.

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❗️Russian troops have liberated the settlement of Novotroitskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic, Russia's Defense Ministry announced

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🇷🇺🪖More statements from the Russian MoD daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:    
 
▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 110 soldiers in the Russian Sever and Dnepr Battlegroup's area of responsibility;
 
▪️Ukrainian losses in the Russian Yug combat group's area of responsibility amounted to 220 militants;
 
▪️Ukrainian forces lost 420 fighters and four field ammunition depots in the area of responsibility of the Russian Zapad Battlegroup;
 
▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 170 soldiers in the area of responsibility of the Russian Vostok combat group;
 
▪️Russian air defense systems shot down 61 Ukrainian drones.

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Kim Jong-un announces strategy to counter US
 
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced a strategy of "the toughest counteraction" to the United States and promoted the development of relations with friendly countries, the Korean Central News Agency reports.
 
According to the agency, the head of state outlined tasks in the field of foreign relations within the framework of the strategy to actively fight for the protection of national sovereign rights based on the principle of protecting the interests of the state.
 
The counteraction strategy also provides for active assistance in developing relations with friendly countries, KCNA adds.

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🇨🇳🚄💨China presents train capable of reaching speeds of 450 km/h
 
The prototype of the CR450 high-speed train debuted in China's capital, Beijing. During the test, the train reached a speed of 450 km/h, and its operational speed hit 400 km/h.
 
Once placed in commercial operation, the CR450 will be the fastest train in the world. Currently, the maximum speed of trains is 350 km/h.

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South Korean authorities have confirmed that the death toll from the plane crash in South Korea has risen to 176; two people were rescued, Yonhap reports

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❗️Ukrainian losses in the Russian Kursk region during the day amounted to 400 militants, Russia's Defense Ministry announced.

Since the beginning of combat operations in the Kursk region, Ukrainian forces have lost more than 45,220 soldiers.

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🇷🇺🇸🇾 Syria has strategic interests with Russia, said the head of the new Syrian government, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

"Russia is the second most powerful state in the world. It is of great importance. Syria has strategic interests with Russia," he said.

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⚡️Three residents, including a doctor, were killed by gunfire from unidentified armed men traveling in a car near the city of Aleppo in northern Syria, Sputnik sources in Syria report.

In the city of Aleppo, seven civilians, including women, were abducted, the sources added.

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🇬🇪📹 Protesters who are trying to occupy a road and obstruct traffic are being detained near the Georgian parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue.

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Another aviation accident in the last 24 hours: a Boeing 737-800 made an emergency landing in Oslo, Norway
 
The KLM airline, which was heading to Amsterdam, had a hydraulic failure. During landing, the plane rolled off the runway onto the grass. The media reported that no one was injured, and passengers were evacuated.
 
Earlier, a Boeing 737 crashed in South Korea, killing 176 people. Also, an Air Canada plane made an emergency landing at Halifax Airport due to a broken landing gear.

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❗️The Azal plane was not shot down specifically over the territory of Russia, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev said

💬The plane was damaged due to "shelling from the ground", the president added.

💬Aliyev said that the Russian side should punish the perpetrators and pay compensation in connection with the crash of the AZAL plane near Aktau.

▫️Putin and Aliyev had a telephone conversation on Sunday, during which they continued discussing issues related to the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Earlier, Russia's President Vladimir Putin apologized for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace and expressed his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims.

At the time the plane was preparing to land, Ukraine was carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure of Grozny in the Chechen Republic and Vladikavkaz in the Republic of North Ossetia using unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defenses were repelling those attacks.

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❗️Both black boxes of the plane that crashed in South Korea have been found, the country's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has said.

At the moment, 177 people have been declared dead.

South Korean government has declared 7 days of national mourning until and inclusive of January 4 for the victims of the plane crash.

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Oreshnik and Russia’s nuclear doctrine update: Why they matter - Part 1 👉Part 2

Russia took two critical steps to bolster its defenses in 2024: updating its nuclear doctrine and test-firing the advanced Oreshnik missile.

Nuclear doctrine:

Russia’s updated nuclear doctrine aims to “put the West on notice,” Larry Johnson, retired CIA intelligence officer and State Department official, tells Sputnik.

How it relates to Russia-West relations:

🟠Western countries “are creating a more dangerous situation and creating a direct threat to Russia, which is prepared to respond. That's the message Moscow is trying to send,” Johnson says, praising the Kremlin’s adherence to key agreements.

🟠“Russia has always signed these in good faith and abided by them, whether it was like the START Treaty or the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty or their Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty or the Minsk Agreement – Minsk 1 and Minsk 2,” the ex-CIA officer emphasizes.

🟠“It's always the West that's betraying those agreements," he notes, adding “at some point Russia will wake up and realize that this goes beyond a communication gulf.”

In November, President Vladimir Putin authorized the updated nuclear doctrine, detailing scenarios where nuclear weapons might be used, such as attacks with conventional weapons against Russia or Belarus that threaten sovereignty or territorial integrity.

Part 1 👉Part 2

#2024Overview

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Oreshnik and Russia’s nuclear doctrine update: Why they matter - Part 2 👉Part 1

Oreshnik strike:

“They don’t care. They think their continued allowance of Ukraine to launch Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory and kill Russian citizens is just another message,” Larry Johnson, retired CIA intelligence officer and State Department official, tells Sputnik.

Putin confirmed that Russia successfully test-fired the Oreshnik missile on November 21, striking a Ukrainian military facility in Dnepropetrovsk.

The strike was a response to Kiev using US- and UK-supplied missiles to hit facilities in Russia’s Kursk and Bryansk regions.

Part 2 👉Part 1

#2024Overview

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The bodies of all 179 dead from the plane that crashed in South Korea have been recovered - Yonhap

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